Netflix just made it more expensive to go ad-free in US & UK

Credit: David Balev/Unsplash

Netflix has removed its Basic plan for US and UK users, and in doing so, has effectively doubled the cost of streaming the service ad-free.

Going ad-free on Netflix just got a lot more expensive as the company has now removed its popular Basic plan for users in the UK and the US. The move follows the same action it had taken a month prior in Canada.

Previously, Netflix subscribers were allowed to subscribe to "Netflix Basic," a budget option that gave users the right to stream content on a single device at a time. Basic subscribers were locked to 720p but only had to pay $9.99 monthly.

But, as noted by Cordcutters Netflix had attempted to hide the plan to encourage users to sign up for the new $6.99 Basic with Ads — now called Standard with Ads — or one of its other premium packages. Users could still access Basic by reading the fine print on the subscription screen.

However, this option is no longer available, and users will need to subscribe to Standard with Ads for $6.99 or can go ad-free by subscribing to the "Standard" plan for $15.49 per month — now double the cost of the ad-supported plan.

Currently, those subscribed to the Basic plan can continue to use it. Be warned — if you switch to another tier, you won't be able to switch back.

Netflix rolled out the Standard with Ads plan in November, hoping to give users a more budget-friendly option after the company announced it would cut down on password sharing.

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11 Comments

jgreg728

said about 9 months ago

Going to use this opportunity to once again laud the “a la carte” model the Apple TV App pushes with Apple TV Channels and wish all single-network-services like Disney+, Peacock, and Max would come onto the app as channels alongside Paramount and AMC+. One app where you get to easily subscribe and unsubscribe to what you want. Everything playing under the same player UI. High bitrate. Little to no ads (any ads being skippable). Apple TV features like Picture in Picture, seeing your Up Next list during play, SharePlay across the board, and downloading any movie or TV show episode for offline viewing. The list goes on Just wish Apple would push its channels service as hard as they do with Apple TV+. The Apple TV App would be THE best one stop shop streaming app over Netflix Hulu or Amazon.

tmay

said about 9 months ago

jgreg728 said:

Going to use this opportunity to once again laud the “a la carte” model the Apple TV App pushes with Apple TV Channels and wish all single-network-services like Disney+, Peacock, and Max would come onto the app as channels alongside Paramount and AMC+. One app where you get to easily subscribe and unsubscribe to what you want. Everything playing under the same player UI. High bitrate. Little to no ads (any ads being skippable). Apple TV features like Picture in Picture, seeing your Up Next list during play, SharePlay across the board, and downloading any movie or TV show episode for offline viewing. The list goes on Just wish Apple would push its channels service as hard as they do with Apple TV+. The Apple TV App would be THE best one stop shop streaming app over Netflix Hulu or Amazon.

For Apple users, absolutely true, and Apple TV+ is certainly becoming a must have.

Now imagine that Apple is competing with these services and also offering to host Apple Vision Pro content for channels. One stop content for Vision Pro. That would be a win win for Apple and the channels.

jbdragon

said about 9 months ago

I would have dropped Netflix at this point. The only reason I keep it is because my retired father lives at my house and watches a lot of Netflix. I could go months without watching anything from them. When it was much cheaper, it wasn't a big deal, but now the price is to high for that. Having Ads suck. I had the 4K Netflix, though not for long and when Netflix jacked up prices the last time I dropped the 4K option. you know what? I can't even tell the 4K from the 1080P I'm getting now on my 75" Samsung QLED TV.

Should go and be like Apple. Where price and Resolution don't matter. If you want 720P, 1080P, or 4K everything, the price is the same.

StrangeDays

said about 9 months ago

jgreg728 said:

Going to use this opportunity to once again laud the “a la carte” model the Apple TV App pushes with Apple TV Channels and wish all single-network-services like Disney+, Peacock, and Max would come onto the app as channels alongside Paramount and AMC+. One app where you get to easily subscribe and unsubscribe to what you want. Everything playing under the same player UI. High bitrate. Little to no ads (any ads being skippable). Apple TV features like Picture in Picture, seeing your Up Next list during play, SharePlay across the board, and downloading any movie or TV show episode for offline viewing. The list goes on Just wish Apple would push its channels service as hard as they do with Apple TV+. The Apple TV App would be THE best one stop shop streaming app over Netflix Hulu or Amazon.

And yet these tools continue to screw it up — HBO (Max) rolled out its own janky video player. It:

- doesn’t feed into Up Next
- doesn’t support “What did he say?” or enabling captions via voice
- doesn’t support normal edge-click rewind/forward UI, requiring more clicks
- has very laggy app screens which scroll poorly

…it’s like these guys just want to make their experiences crummier and crummier.

StrangeDays

said about 9 months ago

jbdragon said:

I would have dropped Netflix at this point. The only reason I keep it is because my retired father lives at my house and watches a lot of Netflix. I could go months without watching anything from them. When it was much cheaper, it wasn't a big deal, but now the price is to high for that. Having Ads suck. I had the 4K Netflix, though not for long and when Netflix jacked up prices the last time I dropped the 4K option. you know what? I can't even tell the 4K from the 1080P I'm getting now on my 75" Samsung QLED TV.

Should go and be like Apple. Where price and Resolution don't matter. If you want 720P, 1080P, or 4K everything, the price is the same.

Apple also doesn’t dick around on family sharing — if they’re part of your shared family, they can use the service, regardless of which dwelling they reside in.